The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an internationalnon-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of humanity's footprint on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. The living planet report is published every two years by WWF since 1998, it is based on living planet index and ecological footprint calculation.

It is the world's largest conservation organization with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300[4] conservation and environmental projects. WWF is a foundation,[5] with 55% of funding from individuals and bequests, 19% from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, USAID) and 8% from corporations in 2014.[6]

In 1990, the Conservation Foundation was merged into WWF, after becoming an affiliate of WWF in 1985, when it became a distinct legal entity but with the same staff and board. The organization now known as the Conservation Foundation in the United States is the former Forest Foundation of DuPage County.[10][11]

They need above all money, to carry out mercy missions and to meet conservation emergencies by buying land where wildlife treasures are threatened, and in many other ways. Money, for example, to pay guardians of wildlife refuges .... Money for education and propaganda among those who would care and help if only they understood. Money to send out experts to danger spots and to train more local wardens and helpers in Africa and elsewhere. Money to maintain a sort of 'war room' at the international headquarters of conservation, showing where the danger spots are and making it possible to ensure that their needs are met before it is too late.

WWF has set up offices and operations around the world. It originally worked by fundraising and providing grants to existing non-governmental organizations, based on the best-available scientific knowledge and with an initial focus on the protection of endangered species. As more resources became available, its operations expanded into other areas such as the preservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of natural resources, the reduction of pollution, and climate change. The organization also began to run its own conservation projects and campaigns, and by the 1980s started to take a more strategic approach to its conservation activities.

In 1986, the organization changed its name to World Wide Fund for Nature, while retaining the WWF initials. However, it continued at that time to operate under the original name in the United States and Canada.[7]

That year was the 25th anniversary of WWF's foundation, an event marked by a gathering in Assisi, Italy to which the organization's International President HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, invited religious authorities representing Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. These leaders produced The Assisi Declarations, theological statements showing the spiritual relationship between their followers and nature that triggered a growth in the engagement of those religions with conservation around the world.[15]

In the 1990s, WWF revised its mission statement to:

Stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:

conserving the world's biological diversity;

ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable; [and]

promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

WWF scientists and many others identified 238 ecoregions that represent the world's most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, based on a worldwide biodiversity analysis which the organization says was the first of its kind.[16] In the early 2000s (decade), its work was focused on a subset of these ecoregions, in the areas of forest, freshwater and marine habitat conservation, endangered species conservation, climate change, and the elimination of the most toxic chemicals.

"We shan't save all we should like to, but we shall save a great deal more than if we had never tried." – Sir Peter Scott[17]

WWF's giant panda logo originated from a panda named Chi Chi that had been transferred from Beijing Zoo to London Zoo in 1958, three years before WWF became established. The logo was founded by Young in 1966. Being famous as the only panda residing in the Western world at that time, its uniquely recognisable physical features and status as an endangered species were seen as ideal to serve the organization's need for a strong recognisable symbol that would overcome all language barriers.[18] The organization also needed an animal that would have an impact in black and white printing. The logo was then designed by Sir Peter Scott from preliminary sketches by Gerald Watterson, a Scottish naturalist.[19][20] The logo was slightly simplified and made more geometric in 1978, and was revised significantly again in 1986, at the time that the organization changed its name, with the new version featuring solid black shapes for eyes.[21] In 2000 a change was made to the font used for the initials "WWF" in the logo.[22]

The organization also works on a number of global issues driving biodiversity loss and unsustainable use of natural resources, including finance, business practices, laws, and consumption choices. Local offices also work on national or regional issues.[23]

WWF works with a large number of different groups to achieve its goals, including other NGOs, governments, business, investment banks, scientists, fishermen, farmers and local communities. It also undertakes public campaigns to influence decision makers, and seeks to educate people on how to live in a more environmentally friendly manner.It urges people to donate funds to protect the environment. The donors can also choose to receive gifts in return.[citation needed]

Policies of the WWF are made by board members elected for three-year terms. An Executive Team guides and develops WWF's strategy. There is also a National Council which stands as an advisory group to the board and a team of scientists and experts in conservation who research for WWF.

National and international law plays an important role in determining how habitats and resources are managed and used. Laws and regulations become one of the organization’s global priorities.

The WWF has been opposed to the extraction of oil from the Canadian tar sands and has campaigned on this matter. Between 2008 and 2010 the WWF worked with The Co-operative Group, the UK's largest consumer co-operative to publish reports which concluded that: (1) exploiting the Canadian tar sands to their full potential would be sufficient to bring about what they described as 'runaway climate change;[26] (2) carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology cannot be used to reduce the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to a level comparable to that of other methods of oil extraction;[27] (3) the $379 billion which is expected to be spent extracting oil from tar sands could be better spent on research and development in renewable energy technology;[28] and (4) the expansion of tar sands extraction poses a serious threat to the caribou in Alberta .[29]

The organization convinces and helps governments and other political bodies to adopt, enforce, strengthen and/or change policies, guidelines and laws that affect biodiversity and natural resource use. It also ensures government consent and/or keeps their commitment to international instruments relating to the protection of biodiversity and natural resources.[30][31]

In 2012, David Nussbaum, Chief Executive of WWF-UK, spoke out against the way shale gas is used in the UK, saying: "...the Government must reaffirm its commitment to tackling climate change and prioritise renewables and energy efficiency."[32]

WWF has been accused by the campaigner Corporate Watch of being too close to business to campaign objectively.[33][34] WWF claims partnering with corporations such as Coca-Cola, Lafarge, Carlos Slim's and IKEA will reduce their effect on the environment.[35] WWF received €56 million (US$80 million) from corporations in 2010 (an 8% increase in support from corporations compared to 2009), accounting for 11% of total revenue for the year.[6]

In 1988, Prince Bernhard, previously WWF's first President, sold paintings for GBP 700,000 to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. The money was deposited in a Swiss WWF bank account. In 1989, Charles de Haes, then WWF Director-General, transferred GBP 500,000 back to Bernhard for what he (de Haes) called a "private project". It was then revealed, in 1991, that Prince Bernhard had used the money to hire KAS International, owned by SAS founder David Stirling, for an operation called Project "Lock" during which mercenaries (mostly British) fought poachers in nature reserves.[36]

In June 2009, Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia's Commission for Conservation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphins Eco-tourism Zone, argued that the WWF had misrepresented the danger of extinction of the Mekong dolphin to boost fundraising.[37] The report stated that the deaths were caused by a bacterial disease that became fatal due to environmental contaminants suppressing the dolphins' immune systems.[38] He called the report unscientific and harmful to the Cambodian government and threatened the WWF's Cambodian branch with suspension unless they met with him to discuss his claims.[39] Touch Seang Tana later said he would not press charges of supplying false information and would not make any attempt to prevent WWF from continuing its work in Cambodia, but advised WWF to adequately explain its findings and check with the commission before publishing another report. After this, in January 2012, Touch Seang Tana signed the "Kratie Declaration on the Conservation of the Mekong River Irrawaddy Dolphin" along with WWF and the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, an agreement binding the parties to work together on a "roadmap" addressing dolphin conservation in the Mekong River.[40]

In 2012, German investigative journalist Wilfried Huissmann published a book called "The Silence of the Pandas". It became a bestseller in Germany, but was banned from Britain until 2014, when it was released under the title of "Pandaleaks", after a series of injunctions and court orders.[41] The book criticizes WWF for its supposed involvement with corporations that are responsible for large-scale destruction of the environment, such as Coca-Cola, and gives details into the existence of the secret 1001 Club, whose members, Huismann claims, continue to have an unhealthy influence on WWF's policy making.[41] However, WWF has sought to deny the allegations made against it.[42]

The German public television ARD aired a documentary on 22 June 2011 that claimed to show how the WWF cooperates with corporations such as Monsanto, providing sustainability certification in exchange for donations– essentially greenwashing.[43] WWF has denied the allegations.[44] By encouraging high-impact eco-tourism, the program alleges that WWF contributes to the destruction of habitat and species it claims to protect. WWF-India is not active at the tiger reserve given as the example,[citation needed] but it is active elsewhere seeking to limit adverse tourism effects and better sharing of tourism benefits to local communities. The program also alleges WWF certified a palm oil plantation operated by Wilmar International, a Singaporean company, on the Indonesian island of Borneo, even though the establishment of the plantation led to the destruction of over 14,000 hectares of rainforest. Only 80 hectares were ultimately conserved, the ARD documentary claims. According to the programme, two orangutans live on the conserved land, but have very slim chances of survival because no fruit trees remain and the habitat is too small to sustain them. To survive, they steal palm nuts from the neighbouring plantation, thereby risking being shot by plantation workers. WWF notes that the plantation filmed is PT Rimba Harapan Sakti, which has not been certified as a sustainable producer by the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil. Aerial photographs show that around 4000 hectares, or about a third of the forest cover, has been conserved.[citation needed]

The President of Honor of WWF in Spain used to be King Juan Carlos I,[45] who has been a known hunting enthusiast. In 1962, when he was 24, he was invited by the German Baron Werner von Alvensleben to a hunt in Mozambique.[46] Since then, the king has taken part in hunting forays in Africa and Eastern Europe. In October 2004, he was a member of a hunt in Romania that killed a wolf and nine brown bears, including one that was pregnant, according to the Romanian newspaper Romania Libera.[47] He was also accused by a Russian official of killing a bear called Mitrofan, supposedly after giving vodka to the animal, in an episode that sparked controversy in Spain, although the claim was never proven.[48] In the same year, according to The Guardian, the Polish government allowed him to kill a European bison in Białowieża Forest, even though it is an endangered species.[49] Further controversy arose in April 2012 when the king's participation in an elephant hunt in Botswana was discovered only after he returned to Spain on an emergency flight after tripping over a step and fracturing his hip.[50] Many Spanish environmental groups and leftist parties criticized the monarch's hobby,[51] and the WWF stripped him of the honorary position in July 2012, in an extraordinary assembly by 94% of the votes of the members.[52]

Prince Charles, the UK head of the WWF,[53] has stated that he enjoys hunting.[54] He is believed, however, to adhere to legal British traditional hunting and speaks out against hunting endangered species.[citation needed]

In a 2016 complaint to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the nonprofit group Survival International accused WWF of inadvertently facilitating serious human-rights abuses against indigenous pygmy inhabitants of the rainforest in Cameroon. The complaint alleged that "anti-poaching eco-guards who were part-funded and logistically helped by WWF, victimised the hunter gatherer Baka people, razed to the ground their camps, destroyed or confiscated their property, forced them to relocate and have regularly used physical force and threats of violence against them".[55] It was the first such complaint to be made against a conservation group. The complaint alleges that WWF violated OECD guidelines for the conduct of multinational companies and the UN Declaration of human rights. WWF responded saying that eco-guards were for the most part "protecting the integrity and resources of a [forest] zoning system that includes community forests, hunting and access zones vital to Baka communities." The group disclaimed knowledge of any direct involvement by its staff in rights abuses.[55]

Survival International has also accused WWF of violating its own policies regarding indigenous people's rights by forming a partnership with French logging company Rougier, which it says is responsible for large areas of deforestation in southeast Cameroon, illegally and without the consent of local Baka tribespeople.[56] WWF France stated in 2015 that it had entered a "three-year strategic collaboration" with the Rougier Group.[57]

In 2000, the World Wide Fund for Nature sued the World Wrestling Federation (now named WWE) for unfair trade practices. Both parties had shared the initials "WWF" since 1979. The conservation organization claimed that the sports entertainment company had violated a 1994 agreement regarding international use of the WWF initials.[59][60]

On 10 August 2001, a UK court ruled in favour of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The World Wrestling Federation filed an appeal in October 2001. However, on May 10, 2002, the World Wrestling Federation changed its Web address from WWF.com to WWE.com, and replaced every "WWF" reference on the existing site with "WWE", as a prelude to changing the company's name to "World Wrestling Entertainment." Its stock ticker also switched from WWF to WWE.

The wrestling organization's abandonment of the "WWF" initialism did not end the two organizations' legal conflict. Later in 2002, the World Wide Fund for Nature petitioned the court for $360 million in damages, but was not successful. A subsequent request to overturn by the World Wide Fund for Nature was dismissed by the British Court of Appeal on June 28, 2007. In 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment won a limited decision which permitted them to continue marketing certain pre-existing products with the abandoned WWF logo. However, WWE was mandated to issue newly branded merchandise such as apparel, action figures, video games, and DVDs with the "WWE" initials. Additionally, the court order required the company to remove both auditory and visual references to "WWF" in its library of video footage outside the United Kingdom.

Starting with the 1,000th episode of Raw in July 2012, the WWF "scratch" logo is no longer censored in archival footage. In addition, the WWF initials are no longer censored when spoken or when written in plain text in archival footage. In exchange, WWE is no longer permitted to use the WWF initials or logo in any new, original footage, packaging, or advertising, with any old-school logos for retro-themed programming now using the original WWF logo, but modified without the F.

Peter Rose and Anne Conlon are music theatre writers, well known for their environmental musicals for children, who were commissioned by WWF-UK to write several environmental musicals as part of an education plan. Some were narrated by David Attenborough, and broadcast on television in numerous countries.

The British pop group S Club 7 were ambassadors for WWF-UK during their time together as a band (1999-2003). Each of the members sponsored an endangered animal, and in 2000, traveled to the various locations around the world of their chosen animals for a seven-part BBC documentary series entitled S Club 7 Go Wild.

^Scott, P. (1965). The launching of a new ark: first report of the President and Trustees of the World Wildlife Fund, an international foundation for saving the world's wildlife and wild places; 1962-1965 (Collins).